United States of America
The United States of America (short: United States, USA, US) is a large country in North America, comprised of the contiguous 48 states, Alaska, Hawaii and several other small islands. Neighbouring countries include Canada to the North, Russia to the West, Mexico to the south and the Bahamas and Cuba to the south-east. History 15,000 years ago, America's first inhabitants arrived from Siberia in eastern Russia, across the Bering Sea. The first European contact with the area came in the fifteenth century, as the Spanish Conquistadors were exploring the Americas. Following these first contacts, the native population declined due to disease. A most notable expedition was that of Italian Christopher Columbus in 1492. Also after these first contacts, other empires settled on the eastern coast of America, including France, the Netherlands and Britain. Pilgrims from England settled in at Jamestown, in what is now Virginia. 13 British colonies were established on the eastern coast by 1733. The American Revolutionary War began in 1775 to free America from British control. On July 4, 1776, representatives of the colonies signed the United States Declaration of Independence to formally end the war. The following century, the United States expanded to the west and south and were industrialised. But war broke out again in 1861, when some southern states left the country to begin the Confederated States of America. Thus came the American Civil War, won by the northern states. At the beginning of the 20th century, the United States entered a boom time, and had the makings of an empire after defeating Spain to obtain Puerto Rico and the Philippines. The US hoped not to become involved in the European conflict that occurred in the 1910s. The Zimmermann telegram, however, changed all this, and the US supplied the troops that saved the war for the Allies. The 'Roaring Twenties' were another boom time, until the Depression came at the end of the decade. The US tried again to avoid European conflict, this time in the Second World War, but it was the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour and Nazi Germany's declaration of war that changed it this time. The United States were a leading fighter against communism during the Cold War. The poor relationship between the US and the Soviet Union was highlighted by the space race, which ended in 1969 after the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. The country's actions against communism, especially in Eastern Asia, were often condemned by its people, most notably in the Vietnam War, where occurrings such as the My Lai massacre were intended to prevent the South Vietnamese peasantry aiding the Viet Minh, but instead drove them more firmly towards the latter. Today, the United States is an economic power, and numerous technological expansions reflect on this. Military The United States army is one of the largest in the world, at approximately two million, including reserve components. The army is all-volunteer, though conscription can be enacted at the President's request and the Congress' approval.